Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Section 7: Chapters 48-57
First Written: Oct 16/05
The story of Richard Parker's name and the mix-up is funny. Personally, I like the name Richard Parker for a tiger.
I was surprised to find out that the boat is twenty-six feet long. Before this was mentioned, I pictured the boat to be ten, maybe twelve feet, with a boy hanging, suspended from an oar for fear of being eaten by a hyena several feet away. It made little sense, but a larger boat didn't even cross my mind.
It is amusing how Pi says that it was only when he lost all hope that he felt better. But, it's true. I know it is. When things are going bad, we sometimes begin to act funny, doing and saying odd things, which in turn makes the situation, or our attitude, or maybe both, even worse. It's only when we give up, knowing that we can do nothing about it that we revert to our normal ways and get on with life. Of course, I don't mean to say that we should ever lose hope, but the truth is, some things we just can't change.
I found another theme in the story. Chapter 50 is all about how we often see little things but never really notice them or at least not for a long time. But, when we do, we realize how amazing, or useful, or beautiful those little things can be. This applies to many things: Little odd-and-ends that I keep in my room that mom wants me to throw away, trees and other flora that we finally realize are beautiful gifts from God, people who seem pretty ordinary until something they do or say sparks something in us and we see that they are more than we first imagined them to be. They're special, they're unique, and you want to get to know them better.
Specifically, Martel is pointing to something slightly different, though. He reveals it with his last sentence of Chapter 50. It reads, "How true it is that necessity is the mother of invention, how very true" (pg 154).
Sometimes it's only out of necessity, out of desperate need, that we realize the importance of something that was previously 'just another blob in the world'. Necessity often sheds new light on old things.
I love the way that Pi explains how he eats and drinks. How everything he ingests is like a mouthful of heaven. I love it. I love how he details the complete contents on his "treasure chest". I have to say that Martel is a good author, although I keep finding grammar mistakes which he didn't just miss, but that he actually didn't even realize are mistakes (commas and semi-colons, mostly).
The description of Richard Parker is magnificent. His pose is detailed, his appearance is also, even his length and his teeth.
Another thought on the tiger is what Pi's going to do about him. All the other meat is gone. The zebra's dead, the orangutan's dead, the hyena's dead, even the rats, flies and cockroaches are dead.
I'm guessing from the long explanation of lion tamers and their methods that Pi will attempt to gain mastery over Richard Parker, as he did over the hyena for a short time. But, I don't know how well that will hold up when the tiger becomes hungry. Hunger, of course, changes many things.
Pi's idea to make a raft is a good idea in some ways, but I wonder what is wrong with the locker in the bow of the boat. Would it not make a good shelter? The tiger couldn't get in, sharks couldn't get in, and Pi could get food and water, as well as other supplies, at need. It would be a lot better than spending most of his time on the raft. The only thing he would have to do is put lifejackets around the locker door, or smash the lock off to make sure he didn't get stuck inside.
I really enjoyed reading about Pi's plans for ridding himself of Richard Parker. One of my favorites is his plan to kill him with syringes. That would be a funny sight: a boy trying to jab six morphine syringes into a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Yes, that would be a funny sight indeed.
I also like "Plan Number Five: Poison him, set him on fire, electrocute him. How? With What?" I thought that was amusing.
My favorite, though, is his last plan, the one he chooses: wait him out. Let nature kill him. Lack of food and water means lack of energy and eventually, lack of life altogether. A good plan, I would say.
Update:
Well, it seems Pi has suddenly decided not to go with Plan Six. He's not thinking. He figures that the tiger can outlive him. He believes hunger will drive Richard parker to attack him on the raft. Richard Parker can swim to the raft, yes; Richard Parker can walk through walls or break metal to get into the locker, NO!
Another them I found portrayed is in Chapter 56. It is that fear is man's worst enemy. We have few weapons that can defeat it, and only with real effort. They are hope and trust, and fear fights hard with them after going through disbelief and reason. Fear fights hope with doubt. Fear ruins us, and we can't avoid it, or it will only get worse. We actually have to defeat it to make it go away.
I was right. Pi decides to train Richard Parker. He decides to use the whistle as his training whip, and life as the reward.
I feel that it would be a good, albeit extremely risky, option as a last resort, but that is not the case. Living in the locker offers Pi the best chance of survival.
The story of Richard Parker's name and the mix-up is funny. Personally, I like the name Richard Parker for a tiger.
I was surprised to find out that the boat is twenty-six feet long. Before this was mentioned, I pictured the boat to be ten, maybe twelve feet, with a boy hanging, suspended from an oar for fear of being eaten by a hyena several feet away. It made little sense, but a larger boat didn't even cross my mind.
It is amusing how Pi says that it was only when he lost all hope that he felt better. But, it's true. I know it is. When things are going bad, we sometimes begin to act funny, doing and saying odd things, which in turn makes the situation, or our attitude, or maybe both, even worse. It's only when we give up, knowing that we can do nothing about it that we revert to our normal ways and get on with life. Of course, I don't mean to say that we should ever lose hope, but the truth is, some things we just can't change.
I found another theme in the story. Chapter 50 is all about how we often see little things but never really notice them or at least not for a long time. But, when we do, we realize how amazing, or useful, or beautiful those little things can be. This applies to many things: Little odd-and-ends that I keep in my room that mom wants me to throw away, trees and other flora that we finally realize are beautiful gifts from God, people who seem pretty ordinary until something they do or say sparks something in us and we see that they are more than we first imagined them to be. They're special, they're unique, and you want to get to know them better.
Specifically, Martel is pointing to something slightly different, though. He reveals it with his last sentence of Chapter 50. It reads, "How true it is that necessity is the mother of invention, how very true" (pg 154).
Sometimes it's only out of necessity, out of desperate need, that we realize the importance of something that was previously 'just another blob in the world'. Necessity often sheds new light on old things.
I love the way that Pi explains how he eats and drinks. How everything he ingests is like a mouthful of heaven. I love it. I love how he details the complete contents on his "treasure chest". I have to say that Martel is a good author, although I keep finding grammar mistakes which he didn't just miss, but that he actually didn't even realize are mistakes (commas and semi-colons, mostly).
The description of Richard Parker is magnificent. His pose is detailed, his appearance is also, even his length and his teeth.
Another thought on the tiger is what Pi's going to do about him. All the other meat is gone. The zebra's dead, the orangutan's dead, the hyena's dead, even the rats, flies and cockroaches are dead.
I'm guessing from the long explanation of lion tamers and their methods that Pi will attempt to gain mastery over Richard Parker, as he did over the hyena for a short time. But, I don't know how well that will hold up when the tiger becomes hungry. Hunger, of course, changes many things.
Pi's idea to make a raft is a good idea in some ways, but I wonder what is wrong with the locker in the bow of the boat. Would it not make a good shelter? The tiger couldn't get in, sharks couldn't get in, and Pi could get food and water, as well as other supplies, at need. It would be a lot better than spending most of his time on the raft. The only thing he would have to do is put lifejackets around the locker door, or smash the lock off to make sure he didn't get stuck inside.
I really enjoyed reading about Pi's plans for ridding himself of Richard Parker. One of my favorites is his plan to kill him with syringes. That would be a funny sight: a boy trying to jab six morphine syringes into a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Yes, that would be a funny sight indeed.
I also like "Plan Number Five: Poison him, set him on fire, electrocute him. How? With What?" I thought that was amusing.
My favorite, though, is his last plan, the one he chooses: wait him out. Let nature kill him. Lack of food and water means lack of energy and eventually, lack of life altogether. A good plan, I would say.
Update:
Well, it seems Pi has suddenly decided not to go with Plan Six. He's not thinking. He figures that the tiger can outlive him. He believes hunger will drive Richard parker to attack him on the raft. Richard Parker can swim to the raft, yes; Richard Parker can walk through walls or break metal to get into the locker, NO!
Another them I found portrayed is in Chapter 56. It is that fear is man's worst enemy. We have few weapons that can defeat it, and only with real effort. They are hope and trust, and fear fights hard with them after going through disbelief and reason. Fear fights hope with doubt. Fear ruins us, and we can't avoid it, or it will only get worse. We actually have to defeat it to make it go away.
I was right. Pi decides to train Richard Parker. He decides to use the whistle as his training whip, and life as the reward.
I feel that it would be a good, albeit extremely risky, option as a last resort, but that is not the case. Living in the locker offers Pi the best chance of survival.
